Prince Felix Youssoupov was heir to the richest fortune in Russia, and husband to Princess Irina Romanov. He was also involved in the murder of the notorious Rasputin, but protected from prosecution by his Romanov connection. Using recently unearthed sources, this book explores the story of this colourful pair, shedding new light on their lives.

She only meant to read one page...until she saw her name. Rather than marrying the vile man her father intends for her, Nora Rothwell plans to escape. With the help of her brother and his best friend, Timothy, the Duke of Heywood, she finds her way to the Duke's abandoned hunting lodge, where she will be kept safe and hidden until she comes of age-at which time she will be whisked off to London in the hopes of finding a suitable match who might secure her a place far from her father's reach. Secluded from society, Nora enlists Timothy's help as she prepares for her London debut. Ever serious and unromantic, he teaches her the essential skills of catching a husband, leaving her with no question that he sees her as he always has-a friend, a child-perhaps even a sister. But when she discovers an old diary in the library, everything she thought she knew is called into question. It's Timothy's diary. And if its contents are to be believed, he isn't unromantic in the slightest. ...and he most certainly doesn't see her as a sister. *** Book 2 in the Noble Charades series by Ashtyn Newbold, The Duke's Diary is a sweet regency romantic comedy. Each book can be read alone, but are best enjoyed in the order below: 1. The Earl Next Door 2. The Duke's Diary 3. The Parlor Game (Summer 2024)

In Gilded Age America, Arctic explorers were fabulous celebrities—assured of riches and near-immortality so long as they reached the North Pole first. Of the many attempts to meet that goal, three American expeditions, launched from the Russian archipelago of Franz Josef Land, ended in abject failure, their exploits consigned to near-oblivion. Even so, these ventures—the Wellman expedition (1898–99), the Baldwin-Ziegler (1901–2), and the Fiala-Ziegler (1903–5)—have much to tell us about the personalities, politics, and economics of exploration in their day. In The Greatest Show in the Arctic, the first book to chronicle all three expeditions, P. J. Capelotti explores what went right and what, in the end, went tragically wrong. The cast of colorful characters from the Franz Josef Land forays included Walter Wellman, a Chicago journalist and bon vivant running from debts, his mistress, and an illegitimate daughter; Evelyn Briggs Baldwin, a deranged meteorologist with a fetish for balloons and a passion for Swedish conserves; and Anthony Fiala, a pious photographer in search of God in the Arctic. Featuring an international cast of supporting characters worthy of a three-ring circus, The Greatest Show in the Arctic follows each of the three expeditions in turn, from spectacular feats of financing to their bitter ends. Along the way, the explorers accumulated considerable geographic knowledge and left a legacy of place-names. Through close study of the expeditions’ journals, Capelotti reveals that the Franz Josef Land endeavors foundered chiefly because of poor leadership and internal friction, not for lack of funding, as historians have previously suspected. Presenting tales of noble intentions, novel inventions, and epic miscalculations, The Greatest Show in the Arctic brings fresh life to a unique and underappreciated story of American exploration.

Your heart will be set afire with The Duke Diaries, the third book in Sophia Nash’s Royal Entourage series set in Regency England. After a wild, scandalous night, Rory Lennox, the Duke of Abshire, finds himself in the bed of his sworn enemy’s wholesome sister, Verity Fitzroy. To protect her honor and keep the peace, he agrees to marriage, but it’s an engagement neither is happy about—until unimaginable occurrences make them view the other in a new, passionate light. RITA Award–winning author Sophia Nash is a master of the historical romance who has created unforgettable, compelling characters with powerful emotions and intense sensuality. Sparkling and smart, The Duke Diaries is a wickedly fun romp that will leave you breathless.

Chiefly a record of the life and descendants of Washington Duke. He was born 20 Dec 1820 to Taylor Duke and Dicey Jones. He married Mary Caroline Clinton in 1842. They were the parents of two children. She died in 1847. He married Artelia Toney in Dec 1852. They were the parents of three children. She died in 1858. He died 8 May 1905.